Some preliminary work on infrastructure in the Stephen Foster neighborhood. This property is contaminated and did not have topsoil replacement. No precautions were taken during this digging.

The City of Gainesville recently settled with Beazer East for less than half of the city’s original cost-recovery claims regarding the Koppers Superfund site. Out of approximately $1.8M tax-payer money spent, Gainesville now stands to recoup a paltry $674,500. In return, the city agreed to release Beazer East from any and all cost recovery claims related to Koppers contamination. This latest example of the City of Gainesville’s nonexistent business acumen brings to mind the disastrous, money-losing biomass plant negotiations. Once again, the tax-payers are on the hook to pay the rest of the bill for a slick multi-national multi-billion dollar corporation. And, once again, public and environmental health is sacrificed by this City Commission who repeatedly put Beazer East’s bottom line over the welfare of its own citizens. During the meeting, Commissioner Wells remarked that the city had expected Beazer East to have done some of the improvements to the infrastructure in the remediation area as part of the cleanup. So in actuality, the city is using the settlement money to do what Beazer East was supposed to do before paying the cost-recovery claim. Sounds like a total loss for the city’s coffers.

The one shining beacon in last Thursday’s Commission meeting was when Mayor Braddy brought up the alternate consideration of using the settlement money to help relocate contaminated households. This suggestion was immediately discarded by a unanimous vote in favor of spending the settlement money to replace water lines and repave roads in areas of Stephen Foster Neighborhood where some properties had topsoil replacement. When will this idea of relocation be re-visited or developed? Not only does the Commission’s decision have no immediate benefit to the sick and dying residents in the area, it actually adds to their suffering by exposing more contaminated soil during the reconstruction process.

While replacing the infrastructure, city workers are being exposed to more contaminated soil that was not replaced. What kind of employee health plan does the city offer? And how does the city plan to keep toxic soil disturbed by this activity from recontaminating newly remediated properties? Beazer East has already said it won’t be coming back if more contamination surfaces, and now the city has negotiated away any legal recourse it may have had.

There is another less tangible and more sinister side to this “reinvestment” to infrastructure in the offsite remediation zone: it benefits non-resident property investors looking to make a killing when the redevelopment occurs. In fact, plans are already underway for onsite redevelopment at this very moment. No need to update roads and water works when the city (taxpayers) has already done it, and paid for it. Greedy sharks are circling while toxic trespass gets a beautification band-aid.

Research studies confirm that superfund neighborhoods retain their stigma even decades after EPA says they are clean and safe.

Stephen Foster Neighborhood is subject to an ongoing cycle of exodus and repopulation. When a generation of residents experiences the health effects of toxic exposure and learns about the superfund contamination that banks and realtors failed to disclose to them, population and property values plummet as homeowners abandon toxic homes to protect their families. The neighborhood repopulates as banks and realtors foreclose and sell the dangerous homes again without properly disclosing the Koppers Superfund Site and offsite contamination. More than 70% of Stephen Foster homes have been abandoned at least once.

When affected homeowners turn to the government for help, their elected officials’ response is to tell them they should sue. Residents who cannot afford to leave their hazardous homes are angered by the government’s failure to protect their families. Their anger, sense of hopelessness, and fear for their families’ future are well-founded. A partial list of resident-reported maladies related to toxic exposure including some diseases the Veteran Administration relates to Dioxin/Agent Orange includes:

430 NW 31st Lane: Home purchased for $137,000 cash without Koppers disclosure was sold to investor for $6,600 after homeowner’s death from lung cancer. Homeowner never smoked and told family and neighbors that she blamed the house’s indoor contamination from Koppers for her illness and that she damned the day she moved to Gainesville and all the lying government agencies and elected do-nothing officials. When the investor was questioned by neighbors as to why he bought a contaminated home he said he didn’t care about the contamination because he wasn’t going to live there and he was going to make lots of money whether he rented or sold the property. Deceased homeowner had indoor testing of this house for Koppers chemicals and test results indicate that the house is highly contaminated.

500 NW 31st Lane: Home recently sold for $12,000 after homeowner’s death.

3119 NW 4th St: Home sold for $100. Tenants left for their health and safety after entire family was afflicted with illnesses that included chloracne, chronic nose bleeds and headaches, asthma onset, recurrent boils and abscesses, phantom itch and musculoskeletal pain. Family had no disclosure of the Koppers Superfund contamination problem in the neighborhood. Independent testing revealed severe contamination inside of house.

3139 NW 4th St: Home was purchased for $78,000 with no Koppers disclosure and recently sold for $42,000. Homeowner left for the health and safety of her young children.

3203 NW 4th St: Home was purchased for $106,000 with no Koppers disclosure. Bank recently resold property for $36,900 with no Koppers disclosure. Homeowner left to protect children’s health. Indoor and outdoor test results indicate that this property is highly contaminated.

3507 NW 4th St: Homeowner purchased this property for $126,000 with no Koppers disclosure. After foreclosing, bank sold to newowner for $48,900 without Koppers disclosure. Original foreclosed owner had the house independently tested and the toxic chemical contamination filed in court records. Afflicted by cancer, she blamed the indoor contamination and the ongoing toxic stormwater runoff that trespasses the property from the Koppers Superfund Site for her illness. Test results of this house indicate high levels of Koppers contamination indoors and outdoors.

514 NW 33rd Ave: Homeowner purchased property with no Koppers disclosure with a $133,000 loan. Original foreclosed owner had the house independently tested and the toxic chemical contamination filed in court records. After receiving the test results, homeowner disclosed the contamination to her tenants. Tenants decided to stay anyway. Two years later, several members of tenant family became victims of thyroid cancer. After the tenants left for their health and safety, the owner did not rent the property again and Bank recently resold property for $52,000 with no Koppers disclosure. New owners are no longer living on property after they learned their home and neighborhood is contaminated by Koppers Superfund Site. The home is highly contaminated indoors and outdoors.

3415 NW 5th St: Home was purchased for $187,000 with no Koppers disclosure. Bank recently resold the toxic property for $100 to investors. Family left for their children’s health and safety; the new investors are already reselling the contaminated property.

501 NW 28th Ave: Home was purchased for $138,900 with no Koppers disclosure. Bank recently resold the contaminated home for $34,000 after original owners abandoned the property due to many miscarriages and health issues associated with the contamination from the Koppers Superfund Site that the family was facing. Original owners had property independently tested for Koppers contamination and the results indicate that the house is severely contaminated inside.

431 NW 32nd Ave: Home was purchased for $174,000 with no Koppers disclosure. Bank resold property for $47,200 with no Koppers disclosure.

533 NW 29th Ave: Home was purchased for $108,000 with no Koppers disclosure. Bank resold property for $35,000 with no Koppers disclosure. Original owners abandoned property due to health and safety concerns and Koppers contamination of their home. New homeowner planning to move for health and safety.

519 NW 29th Ave: Home was purchased with no Koppers disclosure. Bank resold property recently for $35,000 with no Koppers disclosure. Original owners abandoned property for their health and safety because of the Koppers contamination of their home. Present tenant at this property had no Koppers disclosure and will be moving for their health and safety.

501 NW 29th Ave: Home has been empty for two years. The longtime tenants left for their health and safety after the entire family- three generations- was afflicted with multiple illnesses including chloracne, chronic nose bleeds and headaches, asthma onset, recurrent extremely painful boils and abscesses, and multiple cancers. Recently the youngest member of the family, a 15 year-old boy, was told he has leukemia. Family had no disclosure of the Koppers Superfund contamination problem in the neighborhood.

3403 NW 3rd Ave: Home was purchased for $91,000 with no Koppers disclosure. After the family left for their health and safety, the bank foreclosed and resold property to an investor for $41,500.

529 NW 30th Ave: Home was purchased for $85,000. The owner left for health and safety, the bank foreclosed, and the property sits empty.

537 NW 30th Ave: Home was purchased for $85,000. The owner left for health and safety, the bank foreclosed and this property also sits empty.

425 NW 37th Ave: Home’s original loan was $137,000. Property owner received no Koppers disclosure. Foreclosed owner had the house independently tested and the toxic chemical contamination filed in court records. After receiving test results, the homeowner disclosed the contamination to her tenants. Tenants decided to move for their health and safety and owner did not rent this property again. Bank foreclosed and listed property for $68,000. The property never sold and still sits empty two years later. Filed indoor and outdoor test results reveal that this property is highly toxic. The property owner also received registered test results from the State of Florida stating that this property is contaminated.

The Gainesville City Commission’s recent recommendation to homebuyers who have unwittingly purchased a Koppers contaminated home without disclosure is to take legal action and file suit as soon as possible to protect your family.

Homebuyers have up to three years after they discover the contamination and/or nondisclosure to file against the culpable bank and realtor that sold them the toxic property and withheld legally required disclosure of the Koppers Superfund Site.

Wells Fargo isn’t the only entity complicit in reselling chemical laden toxic homes without legal disclosure. Government-funded agencies and politicians are willful participants in perpetuating this dangerous fraud. State and independent test results confirming that many of these homes are unsafe are available on the public record.

According to their mission statement, “Wells Fargo’s ongoing respect for human rights reflects our vision and values. This effort is done with the understanding that in some circumstances we may go above and beyond what the law and industry standards require. We are dedicated to corporate social responsibility and strive to uphold human rights in all our business activities.” Seriously? Actions speak louder than words.

Wells-Fargo and HUD profit by using Fannie Mae to put new families into hazardous homes. Ignoring families’ pleas for assistance out of Koppers Arsenic-Dioxin-PAH contaminated homes knowingly financed by Wells Fargo, Wells Fargo forecloses on the dangerous properties. Wells Fargo then transfers ownership to HUD for the full value, enabling HUD to sell the toxic homes to new families through Fannie Mae.

Wells Fargo and FannieMae are preparing to sell the most hazardous property in the Koppers Superfund neighborhood. The unscrupulous actions of these entities will assure that a new and unsuspecting family will move into this highly toxic home, by nondisclosure or through an uncaring property investor who will rent it out with a fresh coat of paint.

Either way, a new round of innocent victims will be exposed to high levels of dioxins and the lethal combination of:

The previous owner of this toxic home was surprised to receive a late night visitor sent by Corporate America who told her “It’s not personal- it’s about the money. Shut up and get out before you get hurt.”

The owner of this heavily contaminated home, Mr. Roy Geiersbach, frequently testified before City and County officials about Wells Fargo’s nondisclosure. When Mr. Geiersbach received anonymous threats he went to the FBI and the US Department of Justice detailing the threats and a hit and run attempt on his life. He spoke out about his toxic exposure illnesses and loved ones lost to cancers caused by his contaminated property, asking “How many more have to die?”

Another of the properties transferred to Fannie Mae and sold without disclosure is 514 NW 33rd Avenue. The new homeowners found out about the home’s contamination only after moving in. This family left their toxic home within weeks of the discovery. The previous residents moved after two family members were diagnosed with cancer.

Why has Wells Fargo abandoned their stated visions and values?Wells Fargo needs to honor their mission statement and put their money where their mouth is.

Unhappy homeowners in Superfund Neighborhoods across the US that received topsoil replacement report that they have had to spend thousands of dollars replacing the cheap materials hastily laid in their yards and repairing damage to their homes caused by corporate polluter contractors. EPA staff stopped returning homeowners phone calls and emails for assistance after topsoil replacement was finished.

“We’re not coming back.”
Last year, Beazer East executive Mitchell Brourman told Gainesville’s City Commission that BE will not remediate any remaining/recurring Koppers contamination after the current topsoil replacement is completed. According to Mr. Brourman they’re done even if soil replacement fails. Any problems, from recontamination to property damage caused by Beazer East contractors, will be left to homeowners to deal with at their own expense. Stephen Foster residents with replaced topsoil are already reporting that Beazer East contractors and EPA staff are not responding to them when contacted regarding problems caused by their “cleanup”.

Beazer East says they have finished their “cleanup” of Stephen Foster Neighborhood, but a newly updated Center for Public Integrity report shows that Gainesville’s Koppers Superfund Site is still one of the 114 most dangerous Superfund Sites in the nation. Despite EPA claims, human exposure and contaminated groundwater migration continue in communities surrounding Koppers, as they do in communities like Escambia FL, Libby MT, Love Canal NY, and other Superfund neighborhoods that received similar topsoil replacement- these “cleanups” do not work and are not protective of residents’ health in the short or the long-term.

Beazer East hired Sevenson Environmental Services to handle the contaminated soil removal in Stephen Foster Neighborhood in Gainesville. Love Canal families who moved in after the EPA told them it was safe and clean are now suing Sevenson, the city of Niagara Falls, the Niagara Falls Water Board, and Occidental Chemical Corp for negligence in the original cleanup more than 30 years ago.

Among the deluge of resident complaints are reports of Sevenson workers leaving contaminated topsoil around trees and house foundations in Stephen Foster Neighborhood, creating massive islands of toxic soil in the new topsoil. The pooled water in the photo above is one example of contaminated groundwater that migrated directly from Koppers Superfund Site into the newly dug, “clean” area.

Hazardous Residential Waste- WCA (City of Gainesville trash pickup) could not collect residential yard waste across from 514 NW 31st Lane: because it is hazardous waste, they tagged it for Hazmat handling. Months earlier, Beazer East had announced that this block was completely cleaned up!

Koppers Plain Talk explores the science of Gainesville’s Superfund Site, shedding light on the health effects of its toxins.

EPA’s 2009 chart documenting the health effects of Koppers contaminants of concern is particularly informative- and alarming. To view this document, go to koppersplaintalk.com, choose The Science tab and scroll to the bottom. Check out the rest of this educational site.

On February 6, 2014 Maria Parsons told the City Commission about Stephen Foster Neighborhood residents’ concerns that by agreeing to participate in Beazer East, Inc/EPA’s topsoil replacement plan- at any time before, during, and/or after the soil replacement process- they are signing away their rights to take any possible future legal action that may be needed involving the polluter or any other responsible party for ongoing contamination and toxic exposure from Koppers chemicals.

Mrs. Parsons asked the Commission to confirm or deny these concerns in writing, and to provide a copy of all agreement forms, contracts, releases and/or waivers that residents must sign in order to participate in the soil replacement plan. The Commission directed Mr. Murry to obtain and forward the requested information and documents to her. Mrs. Parsons has not heard from Mr. Murry yet. Farinda O’Steen asked the city for this information several months ago and is still waiting for their response, as are other concerned residents.

Residents also need to know whether deed restrictions will be placed on their properties and exactly what that entails.

Homeowners in and near the contantly-changing topsoil replacement zone would be wise to have any documents they receive pertaining to Beazer East Inc/EPA’s plan reviewed by an attorney before signing them.

Koppers Health Warnings

In August 2009, ATSDR and the Florida Department of Health began issuing an ongoing series of health warnings to residents of Stephen Foster Neighborhood including:

*Residents should wash hands after contact with soil and water.
*Parents should keep children from playing in contaminated soils.
*Residents should mow lawns only when it is not dry and dusty, and should avoid exposure to dust from mowing.
*Residents should keep chickens used for homegrown eggs in elevated coops because dioxin contamination was found in eggs from neighborhood free-range chickens.
*Eating homegrown vegetables such as zucchini could cause thyroid changes and fertility problems, and increase cancer risk. There are many unknowns in assessing the real health risk.

“In a million years, I wouldn’t live there with my kids.” –City Commissioner Todd Chase on Koppers contamination in Stephen Foster Neighborhood

Koppers Disclosure Required by Law

Florida Statutes require the presence of Koppers and its contamination to be fully disclosed to homebuyers and renters in our neighborhood.

Recent homebuyers and renters are reporting that they received no disclosure of Koppers Superfund and its contamination. Some report receiving incomplete or misleading information about the Site and its health hazards.

Non-disclosed or improperly disclosed homeowners and renters have three years from the date they first learn of the contamination to take legal action, and some recent homebuyers are currently filing non-disclosure lawsuits. Renters who went before the City Commission about their non-disclosure have been let out of their leases by their landlords.

Homes More Contaminated Inside than Out

Over 100 local homes were independently tested for Dioxin, Arsenic and PAH’s. The results are alarming: the inside of tested Stephen Foster Neighborhood homes average 400 to over 1,100 times more contamination than the toxic soil that EPA/Beazer East is removing from yards.

“We have a very serious problem here that one foot of soil is not going to cure” -timber industry and remediation expert Bob Burton

No Guarantee that Soil Replacement will Work- and No Second Chance

Residents refusing EPA/Beazer East’s one foot soil replacement are doing so because soil replacement did not work here in the past: two to sixty feet of toxic soil were removed and replaced with new soil. When the new soil was tested three years later, it had become just as contaminated as the original soil.

EPA/Beazer East will not guarantee that the soil replacement will work- and they have stated that they will not test the new soil later. If the new soil becomes contaminated -as has happened every time in the past -residents who had the soil replacement will be left with toxic soil and toxic homes with no entity legally bound to help them out.

However, Beazer East’s Mitchell Brourman stated at the soil remediation meeting in May that residents can back out of the soil replacement contract anytime before soil removal is performed on their property.

“We’re not coming back.” -Mitchell Brourman to City Commission: Beazer East is done in Stephen Foster Neighborhood after twelve inch soil removal- even if it fails.

Residents’ Relocation Efforts Unaffected by Koppers Consent Decree

There are many precedents for relocation in Superfund Communities like Stephen Foster Neighborhood. Beazer East can choose to be a good neighbor in reality and introduce an option to help families move out of Koppers contaminated homes.

Superfund Communities who have achieved relocation for their families advise Stephen Foster Neighborhood residents that their relocations were achieved after federal consent decrees were signed. They stress the importance of continuing to demand relocation out of Dioxin-Arsenic-PAH contaminated homes.

Gainesville City Commissioner Hinson-Rawls wants residents made whole and told Beazer East to “Just purchase the homes”

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